Page 12 The Pendulum
Emphasis
Thursday, September 12,1985
Approaching the job search
By Loukia Louka
Emphasis Editor
In a recent issue of Business
Week's Guide to Careers, an
on-campus report from the
University of Colorado gave
readers a look at how
graduating seniors there ap
proach the job search. Charles
M. Lillis, dean of the College
of Business and Administration
and the Graduate School of
* Business Administration of
UC-Boulder, says that students
there are looking for challeng
ing positions where they can
gain a responsible role in a
company quickly.
Lillis, a former General
Electric official, suggests that
students prepare themselves
well for job interviews by
identifying companies they are
interested in and learning about
them. “Then, go to the com-
» pany and say ‘Here’s what I
want to do.’ I was always im
pressed with students who ag
gressively came to us,” he
says.
Gordon H. Gray, director of
career services at CU, says
that some students take the
view of “I’ll see what’s
available, then pick and
choose.” That approach, says
Gray, can leave a student
empty-handed when it comes
■ to job offers.
Formalizing plans
Betsey Savage, director of
career planning, offers a credit
course to groups of students,
“College and Careers: Making
the Connection” (COE 171).
Though her work is primarily
with freshmen and
sophomores. Savage helps any
student through individual
testing, a library on colleges
and universities and a com
puter software program where
students can work independent
ly in self-assessment of careers
and occupations.
Upperclassmen who are
preparing for graduation are
closer to the firing line: the
first interview and bridging the
gap from classes to the job
market. To afford Elon
graduates the opportunity of
job interviews with companies.
Placement Director Karen
Thompson spent a large part of
the summer recruiting com
panies to consider hiring Elon
graduates. “When I came
here in January, there hadn’t
been anyone doing that,” says
Thompson. “Last semester I
spent all day with students so I
couldn’t go out and recruit.”
Thompson spent time in
Virginia and North Carolina
talking with representatives
from Digital, Duke Power,
Sovran Bank, NCNB, Belk’s
and Ivey’s. She found that,
while many were looking for
students who have had some
business courses, they would
consider any major. ,
“Time will tell how suc
cessful this will be with the
1986 graduates. A lot of it
depends on how well the stu
dent prepares for the inter
view. I can coach a student all
day long, but he or she will
ultimately reflect on Elon’s
reputation,” she says.
For a student to have access
to the placement services they
must participate in one of three
programs offered. One option
is the six-week mini-course
“Preparing for the Job
Market” (COE 371). This
course which gives one
semester-hour credit includes
self-assessment, resume
preparation, interviewing, criti
quing and tailored job leads.
A second option is
workshops that meet
throughout the semester. These
hour-long workshops examine
resume writing and how to in
terview. The third choice
available is a competency test
for non-traditional students or
a student who has co-oped or
participated in an internship.
“People who have prepared
by taking one of these three
will get priority,” says
Thompson. “We want to
reduce the time between
graduation and getting that first
job. If they have prepared,
then they’ll be ready for the
job market.”
Last year over 2(X) out of
410 graduates were listed with
Career Placement, a figure that
Thompson hopes will increase.
“We’re putting more effort in
this year through mailouts and
meetings,” she says.
On the firing line
In learning how to handle
the stress and anxiety of a job
interview, Thompson says
many students are misinform
ed. “If a student investigates a
company, they can match up
their needs compared to the
company. It is easier to be in
control when they actually go
on the interview,” she says.
Director of Cooperative
Education Steve Reinhartsen
received his master’s degree in
career counseling from the
University of North Carolina-
Greensboro and was director
of career planning at Elizabeth
State University before coming
to Elon. Here, he works with
students in experiential learn
ing.
“The average student who
goes through an interview is
going to be nervous,” says
Reinhartsen. “The interviewer
knows that so they’ll start talk
ing to you about something to
make a comfortable at
mosphere.” Like Thompson,
Reinhartsen believes that
researching a company is
crucial to any interview. “If
you haven’t done any research
there really isn’t anything to
talk about,” he says.
In an interview, two ques
tions arise, says Reinhartsen:
“Can you do the job?” and
“Do I like you?”
Above all, Reinhartsen
stresses the importance of ob
taining an interview and having
the employer meet you. “You
have to get through the inter
views to make it work,” he
says. “After the interview,
make sure you know where
you are in the process and
send a thank you note.”
Reinhartsen stressses the im
portance of developing other
leads and possibilities while
waiting to hear something.
Elon offers a Co-op program
for a student who wants some
experience in his field. For
one credit a semester at 10
hours a week, a student has a
learning experience and
documents what has been
learned on the job. “We had
about 45 people work part-time
in their field last year and
about 25 students in the sum
mer,” Reinhartsen says. “It
has been here for four years
and it is getting bigger as more
people find out about it,” he
adds.
Cooperative Education receives
funding from the federal govern
ment while career planning has
gained strength here over the past
few years, their federal funding
has been cut off this year. “We’d
like to have federal ftinds,” says
Reinhartsen, “and we’re still
eligible for another year but after
that it’s gone anyway.”
The federal government will
underwrite Cooperative Educa
tion programs for eligible schools
for the first five years of the pro
gram. After that, schools are on i
their own. “You’ve got to have
a strong program,” says
Reinhartsen. “Ours is strong, but
it isn’t all that big. ” Reinhartsen
says that after this year, if the
program continues to grow, Elon
will put in for another year of
funding.
David Genshaw, an
economics major from
Seaford, Del., worked at
Wilmington Savings Funds
Society (WSFS) this summer
for college credit. “I started
looking for a summer job back
at Christmas,” says Genshaw.
“Working at WSFS narrowed
down a lot of things. It show
ed me what I didn’t want to
do. Through the bank, I met a
lot of people whose jobs I
wouldn’t mind doing.”
Genshaw wants to get into
stockbroking and has made
contacts in that area for next
summer. “I learned a lot about
what types of opportunities are
available,” he says.
What of the infamous
college-year summers, filled
with the beach, sun and an in
exhaustible list of fun times?
“When you get a job in your
major, you won’t be working
with people your own age, so
it won’t be a wild summer,”
says Genshaw. “If you want to
get into your career you have
to sacrifice that. After school
the wild times are over so it is
important to have prior con
tacts.”
IN CASE OF INTERY/EW
BREAK ewSS